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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you have an interest in private school you might consider postponing for the elementary and potentially middle school years if your child is &gt; 2 S.D. from the mean in Math and Science.   You might consider  shooting for a public elementary and/or middle school magnet program allowing more stretch and advancement in these domains.  One can then try the private school option in high school when one may more easily successfully advocate for greater flexibility (honors and AP classes, independent study with a faculty member) with a proven body of past work and performance. [/quote]

Primarily "shilling" for Feynman School here (so what else is new), and, by extension I suppose, Nysmith.

PP quoted here from 15:41 has it, in part, backward.  If your young child really enjoys math (or science or reading) and develops, say, two or more years ahead of his or her age peers in the subject area due to ability, curiosity and early exposure to the material outside of school, neither the public nor most private schools in the area are likely to do a great job addressing your child's learning needs from preschool through third grade.  Classes are simply too large and/or there is not enough differentiation to keep these advanced learners excited about spending six hours per day in school.  Now in Montgomery County, the highly gifted centers begin at fourth grade; are very selective; and do provide significant differentiation for these children.  I am not an expert on these HGCs but I generally like what I have read about them.  They appear to focus on higher-order thinking skills as opposed to rote teaching-to-the-test, and I also like the fact that there are seven of them, spread out geographically around the county.  But make no mistake, from preschool through third grade (at least in Montgomery County), Feynman is the school that allows a highly-advanced, self-motivated student to develop at his or her own pace.  For example, Feynman has a kindergarten student this year who qualified for the Johns Hopkins CTY in math and is now working comfortably at a 5th-grade math level--in school, during the regular day.  And he's not just "racing ahead" to race ahead either.  He loves math and enjoys applying what he learns to topics such as geography and meteorology.  Four-year-old pre-K students can sound out basic books on grade level, or they can discuss chapter books in a 2nd-grade level reading group if they're ready.  Based on what I have observed at Nysmith, its programs also allow a young highly-advanced learner to develop at his or her own pace.  I don't have any experience with Kumon, but isn't it somehow preferable for a child's learning needs to be met at school if possible?

In contrast, once children reach high school the lay of the land is much different.  In HS, the public schools can typically better serve the very advanced, motivated student.  Why?  Sheer numbers.

In even the largest private schools, the size of the high school graduating class is small enough that in any given year, there may not be enough highly-advanced math and science students enrolled to cobble together a class in multivariable calculus, or to assemble a team to work directly with a local university professor on a research project in genetics.  Only public magnet schools such as Montgomery Blair, Poolesville and Thomas Jefferson have the critical mass to offer this level of rigor, challenge and opportunity year-in, year-out, because they're drawing from such a large pool of top talent.  These students have a record of winning Intel science fairs and gaining acceptance to schools such as Caltech and MIT in impressive numbers.  For the budding student who aspires to someday excel in a STEM profession, our local HS magnet programs are among the finest in the nation.  And, they're free.

I would like to learn more about how advanced-curriculum STEM opportunities compare in local middle schools, public vs. independent, and hope some knowledgeable folks will chime in.  My apologies if there's already a recent thread on this.
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